I am going to share an opinion that is unpopular with many of my peers: I am tentatively in support of the proposed Seattle Public Schools plan to close about 20 elementary schools. I speak as a K-12 SPS alumnus (go Bulldogs!) and as a parent of two current SPS elementary school students.
Like many, my initial reaction to the proposed closures was sadness and alarm. If our family’s school closes in 2025, we will feel deep grief. But, as I have listened to conversations, including community presentations by SPS leadership, I have come to believe that this is ultimately the best way to move forward right now.
I have not heard timely or realistic alternative proposals that address the urgent challenges SPS — and districts across the country — are facing. Many point a finger at a single issue, e.g., inadequate state funding, flight of SPS families to private schools, and so on. However, there are a multitude of contributing factors that are difficult to disentangle, such as the way public education is funded in Washington, the lack of affordable housing and jobs with living wages, and the falling birthrate nationwide (when I started kindergarten, the national birth rate was greater than 3 for every uterine-bodied individual. Now it is 1.6.)
These are issues faced by cities across the country and will require long-term, complex policy solutions. We should keep pushing for these long-term solutions while also acknowledging that immediate action is needed to ensure SPS is fiscally healthy and sustainable now and in the years ahead.
There are 50,000 fewer SPS students than when I was in school. Many SPS elementary schools are operating at 60% capacity or less, causing resources in critical areas such as special education, mental health, and school nursing to be spread extremely thin.
I do not believe any families or teachers wish to see schools continue to contract, to go down to one class per grade, or to have forced combined grade classes based on falling enrollment.
And the projections are clear: Our student population will continue to decline. Keeping the status quo in our schools is not an option.
I want to be part of a tangible solution, and based on what the district has presented, I believe fewer schools will lead to better-resourced schools with more support for students. We could continue to cling to a system that’s no longer a fit for our city or embrace this as a powerful opportunity to build schools worthy of the next generation.
I am committed to public education for my own children, not only because I believe it to be the secret sauce of maintaining a healthy democracy but also because I know it is the best education available to my children.
SPS was pivotal in making me the person I am today. So, I will walk with SPS through this process.
If our school closes in 2025, I will mourn, I will support my children through that challenging transition, and I will hope that this bump in the road for my children will be better for the SPS community as a whole.
** Laura Morgan is a Seattle native, family medicine practitioner, and mother of two SPS students.
Read more about changes coming to SPS:
The future of SPS: Big changes are coming
